Sakura at Night
by Kelpie the Thundergod
Summary: The silence was so complete, Fai thought he could hear the cherry blossoms floating to the ground.


**Sakura at Night**

_Disclaimer : _don't own

_Warnings: _I wrote this story before the Nihon arc – yeah, I was a genius, I know°... well, therefore the story assumes that

a) the tree in which Sakura lays is _outside _the castle and that

b) Kurogane got his artificial arm a bit later than he did actually

_thanks to: _my beta-readers Liriella (who betaed the german one) and Charmkeeper (who killed all the stupid faults I did – I try very hard to get better, I promise!) - you both did an amazing job! Thank you!

So, here you go! R&R please!

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The silence was so complete, Fai thought he could hear the cherry blossoms floating to the ground. The wind blew softly through the trees and his hair made the only sound. Above him, he could see the starlit sky. Shirasagi Castle was really – at least at night – one of the most peaceful places he had ever hadn't been many in Celes and besides he hadn't really found peace there... nothing like here.

He crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and breathed in the scent of the blossoms. There was a little time left before dawn, therefore it was still rather dark around him. Despite this, he was sure that the cherry tree in front of him was the one was in which the girl lay. She was the last one he visited that had to see, if everything was okay. About an hour ago he had given up on trying to fall asleep after he had suddenly woken up, restless and haunted by shadowy images and memories.

He feared that maybe the others felt the same, so he had decided to look after wandered from room to room, till he arrived at the balcony. He knew it wasn't just that. It may sound stupid, but sometimes he just had to make sure the others were still there. He had to make sure that he hadn't lost them.

He had gone to Kurogane's room first, quietly and carefully shoved the door open, and then he stood there, just watching for a few seconds how Kurogane laid there and slept.

Finally he had - worrying that he may wake him if he stayed there - the door shut again and went on to Syaoran, who also seemed to sleep, although less calmly. While he had gone on to Sakura then, he wondered for a moment, if maybe Syaoran just acted as though he was asleep and that he had left him too early. He then abandoned the thought. Something told him that just wasn't something this Syaoran would do.

For a moment the breeze grew stronger and let the long sleeves of his furisode flutter as he heard soft footsteps behind him. He sighed and he knew instantly who it was, but didn't turn around. _Seems like I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep..._

"Hey."

Fai smiled – a lopsided, but at least sincere smile - and turned his head to the tall, moonlight bathed, dark figure standing at his left side.

"Hey," he said in return.

Kurogane offered him a smirk and looked outside at the darkness himself. His right hand, which he had laid on the balustrade to steady himself, as well as Kurogane's still unsteady feet proved his assumption to be it had been some days since he regained his conciousness, he still wasn't used to walking with just one arm. He had trouble with his balance. One look at his face proved a second looked so, his eyes had still their usual sharp perceptive quality, as Kurogane peered down onto him.

"You can't sleep again, huh?"

Fai grimaced. "Looks like it. What about you?"

An amused but at the same time worried expression mixed itself in the gaze of the other male. "How should I be able to sleep, when someone sneeks into my room in the middle of the night, just to leave in the opposite direction of his own room a few moments later?"

Again, Fai grimaced. Half of it was regret because he really seemed to have woken up Kurogane. Half of it was amusement about how the other tried to hide his concern about him."Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"Tch." Kurogane shook his head a bit and turned his gaze to look at the nightly landscape for a moment. "I was half awake anyway."

For a moment the breeze grew stronger again and soundlessly blew a few cherry blossoms onto the wooden floor.

Fai looked up on the taller man curiously. "Why?"

The said man turned his gaze at the sight of the trees again, as if he were trying to avoid to answer. "How should I know? Seems to be more likely that I have slept too much in the last few everything went _her_ way, I would have stayed in that goddammed bed forever!"

Fai couldn't help himself, he had to smile at this all too Kurogane-like answer. Even if he seemed to complain about Tomoyo most of the time, it was clear to everyone how much she meant to him.  
He just didn't like people knowing about things like that.

Anyway, there had to be something else about him looking so tired, especially considering the fact that he had indeed slept very much.

The wind moved the sleeve of Kurogane's kimono, and the one hand he had left seemed to flinch before he reshifted his weight on it. Like he had wanted to move his arm, as if to cross it with the other before he had remembered that -

"Ah!"

"Hn? What's the matter?" Flooded with a suddenly realization, Fai stared up to Kurogane, as the latter turned to him with a perceptive but also curious look on his face.

"You can't sleep on your side."

"What the-" the other stared down at him curiously, not able to hide his puzzled expression.  
"No, I can't. What's so important about it?"

"That's the reason your awake."

Kurogane turned his gaze away from him again, as if he felt embarassed about this fact.

"Hn. Maybe."

Again, the shorter man had to smile about this typical answer. It was that obvious, he really should have figured it out earlier. Normally, Kurogane might sleep almost motionless during his sleep, but now with his currently injured state, he needed far more rest than usual, it must be very bothersome just to be able to sleep on his back all the time, due to his wounds on the left and right side.

Suddenly, Fai started giggling and Kurogane turned to look at him, apparently annoyed.

"What's this time?"

Fai offered him an amused sideways glance.

"I really could have discovered that far earlier... for you sleeping as motionless as a stone all the time!"

"Tch, your one to talk. I am not the one looking like he's about to suffocate on his pillow during his sleep!"

"At least I move from time to time."

"Tch. Whatever."

Fai continued to smile about their routine playful arguments until he dared to break the relaxed silence between them once more. "Does it still... hurt badly?"

For a moment, Kurogane said nothing. Even as he finally answered, he didn't look at Fai but continued to stare at the darkness surrounding them. "It's bearable."

Fai sighed theatrically. May he be absolute sincere about everything else, but when it came to something like this, he could always be sure that the other would downplay it. "You really are a crappy liar, Kuro-sama."

The other just smirked. "You're one to talk!"

Fai grimaced jokingly. "Point for you."

For the next moments, they both didn't interrupt the silence, but they didn't feel tensed. They just stood there, side by side, breathing, and watching dawn rising up over the trees.

And although he felt relaxed, Fai couldn'tstop his thoughts from drifting off to the nightmares of the past. They constantly lost more of their terror, getting more and more blurred and vague. Though, he knew that he was far from having overcome them, far from being able to forget them, from allowing himself to forget them.

Suddenly, he shivered in the actuallly warm night air. So many sacrifices, so many scars, that may never heal. It shouldn't have happened, and it must never happen again...never again...

He was so lost in his thoughts that he flinched when a hand was put on his left shoulder.

"Hey."

Surprised, he looked up at Kurogane, who observed him critically with his usual expression of irritation mixed with worry, which was more or less concealed under it. Fai opened his mouth to say something –although he himself didn't even know what– as he was suddenly pulled to the left, nearer to Kurogane's side, so that he could see the sunrise, which was hidden from him by the trees before.

"If you keep daydreaming, you will miss the best thing, idiot."

Involuntary, Fai had to smile about the obvious – and obviously failed - attempt of the other, to hide kindness under anger.

Kurogane acknowledged the smile with an annoyed sideways glance.

"What?!"

"Ah, nothing Kuro-sama," replied Fai, while he watched – still smiling silently– the sunrise brightening the dark sky.

Kurogane made a disbelieving sound, which widened Fai's smile even more, if that was possible.

"Absolutly nothing."

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